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(No Model.)

J. F. MUNSIE. UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC CONEUIT.

No. 470,946. Patented Mar. 15, v1892.

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(No Model.) y2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

J. F. MU-NSIE. UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC CONDUIT- 10.470,946. Patented Mar.15, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. MUNSIE, OF JERSEY CITY, NEV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS LEONARDGOLES, OE NEW YORK, N. Y.

UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC CONDUIT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,946, dated March15, 1892.

Application tiled October 9, 1889. Serial No. 326,440. (No model.)

To aZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs F. MUNsIE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey Oity, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsinUndergroundElectrical Conduits; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enabie others skilled in the art to which itappert-ains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to underground-conduit systems for electricalconductors, and is designed particularly to furnish a construction andarrangement of parts whereby distribution from the main or throughconduit to the dwellings or other points between manholes may beeffected after the completed system is laid without removing or tearingup the roadway and with great ease and cclerity, the entire system beingof a permanent and enduring character, the through-conduit beingabsolutely closed between man-holes, and the general distributing-ductsbeing devoid of hand-holes and communicating with the dwellings onlythrough the service ducts thereto. The opposite ends of thethroughconduit sections and of the general distributing-ducts and theouter ends of the serviceducts being normally securely closed againstaccess of moisture from the man-holes and the closing-plates for saidends being protected from molestation and out of possible accidentalcontact with persons or animals using the roadway, while at the sametime readily accessible to the line-workmen, a construction is presentedrealizing the following advantages: first, complete isolation of thewires within the through conduit sections, the distributing-ducts, andthe service-ducts from the soil and its moisture at all times; secondly,the capability of transferring wires from the through-conduit to any ofthe general 'distributing-ducts and thence into and through any of theservice-ducts to the localities to be supplied without in anywayinterferin g with the road-bed 3 thirdly, the capability of withdrawingany service-wire when no longer in use from the service-duct and thegeneral distributing-duct corresponding thereto and replacing said wirein the throughconduit or transferring it to another serviceduct, themanipulation, as before, being effected without breaking up theroad-bed; fourthly, dispensing entirely with distributing-ducthand-holes in the roadway between the man-holes, thereby removing afruitful source of danger, and, flfthly, enabling the service-wires tobe manipulated from the curbstone, so as not to interfere with vehicletraffic upon the street, an important consideration in crowdedthoroughfares.

It is also incident to my invention, as hereinafter explained, that itenables me to pass a wire from the main conduit entirely through theservice-duct to thelocality to be supplied without the necessity ofmaking a splice-joint in said wire at the point of juncture of thegeneral distributingduct and the serviceduct.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents in cross-section anunderground electrical conduit embodying my invention, and Fig. 2represents a longitudinal section thereof. Eig. 3 represents a sectionon the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Similar numerals of reference indicate similar parts in all the views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the road-bed, and 2 the sidewalk,of a street, the relative width of the road-bed with respect to theelectrical conduit being in most instances considerably greater thanthat actually shown in the drawings, as indicated by the broken lines inFig. 1. In Fig. 2 the distances between the conduit man-holes 3 4E arein like manner shown comparatively shorter.

The main body of the underground conduit is laid in a trench at asuitable distance below the road-bed to be protected against theiniiuence of frost and from shocks or jars from heavily-laden vehicles.It consists of a series of successive sections independent of eachother, each section extending between two man-holes and the wires beingconnected between the sections to constitute a through system. One ofthese cond uit-sections is illustrated in the drawings, which shows aconstruction adapted to receive and distribute wires for both high andlow tension currents.

For convenience l prefer to locate the hightension wires (for electriclighting, transmis- IOO sion of power, and the like) at the bottom ofthe trench and within the compartment 7, reserving the upper compartment6 for the reception of telephone and telegraph wires and other wirescharged from batteries. This relative arrangement effects the doublepurpose of placing the high-tension wires at the greater depth, wherethey are less liable to be disturbed by surface-digging, and also ofgiving easier access to the battery-wires, which are in general the morenumerous and require the more handling. The bottom of the uppercompartment is preferably separated from the top of the lowercompartment by intermediate wooden supports toelfect complete insulationbetween the two.

Each compartment referred to consists, primarily, of a well-made outercasing or shell of wood, preferably soaked in a water-proof preservativesolution, and extending uninterruptedly with integral walls and tightjoints between adjacent manholes, as 3 4. The outer shell is in eachinstance separated from the inner conduit containing the wires by anintervening filling 8 of insulating water-proof material-such as tar,mineral paint, or the like-preferably poured into the space allotted toit in a liquid condition and then allowed to solidify.

The through wires of the upper compartment 6 are located within thechambers 9 10 1l, and may be introduced therein by means of thesupplementary channels 12 and the hauling-through cable and itsaccessories shown in Letters Patent No. 356,152, granted to me January18, 1887. To economize space and material, I form the said supplementarychannels in the under side of the partitions separating the chambers.The sides of the said chambers are formed by the generaldistributing-ducts, consisting each of two similar parts 13 14, suitablygrooved or reamed out to form main ducts 15 and supplemental channels16, communicating therewith throughout in the same manner as thechannels 12 communicate with the chambers 9 10 11 and for a similarpurpose-namely, the introduction of wires therein from the man-holes 3 4therein by means of hauling-through cables.

In the lower compartment 7 of the conduit the through-wires are locatedwithin a series of tubes 17 of insulating material, said-tubes beingjointed together and exten ding continuously between adjacent man-holes.The wires may be readily introduced into the tubes by the feedingapparatus described in my application for Letters Patent Iiled May 11,1889. The general distribution-ducts 15 and their supplemental channels16 are similar in construction to those of the compartments 6, the onlydifference being in the cross-section of the ducts, as shown.

It will be noted that in both compartments 6 and 7 the generaldistribution-ducts are located at opposite sides of the through-wireducts. This arrangement permits the wires to be readily supplied toeither side of the street, and also enables a shallower trenchto be usedthan if the general distributing-ducts were located above or beneath thethroughwire ducts. From the general distributingducts of bothcompartments extend laterally the service-ducts 27, which lead toman-holes, as 18, in front of the dwellings on each side of the street.

The service-ducts consist of main passages 19 and longitudinalsupplemental channels 20, communicating therewith.

The wires are drawn into andthrough the service-ducts by means of thesliding hooked piece 21, provided at its end with the frictionroller 22,and adapted to be inserted so as to grasp the wire, as indicated in Fig.1, and as fully described in an application filed by ,meA

May 8, 1889, Serial No. 310,033.

The stout flexible .wire 23, whereby the sliding piece is pushed intothe channel 20 and withdrawn therefrom, may conveniently be fed from areel and passed behind a friction guide-roller 24, supported from therear wall of the man-hole. After being drawn into the said man-holes theconduit-'wires may be connected in any suitable manner to thehouse-circuits.

It will of course be understood that I contemplate laying the entireconduit system with its distributing-ducts and service-ducts at oneoperation, so that it will not be necessary thereafter to disturb theroadway in any way when running into the dwellings Yalong the same newservice-wires or insertingV additional through-wires into themainconduit sections. The system being once laid, the mode of using thesame for the accomplishment of these results will be clearly apparent.Thus to introduce newv throughwires in any particular section themanholes 3 and 4 are opened for the descent of the workmen and the wiresare then drawn through by the hauling-through cable or fed through bythe feeding-roller device, as hereinbefore explained. The haulingthrough cable is also used for withdrawing wires from the main conduitand inserting them into the general distributing-ducts, and, finally,the the wires from the general distributing-ducts are, when required,withdrawn into the service-ducts of any particular dwelling in themanner referred to, so as to be supplied to said dwelling. All of thesemanipulations may be effected with great celerity and with a minimumoutlay of labor and expense. The main body of the conduit and thegeneral distributing ducts, and likewise the serviceducts, areabsolutely without any opening, except at their ends, which open intoman-holes capable of being securely closed and hermetically sealed, butwhich are readily accessible to the line-workmen.

What I claim is- 1. An underground electric-conduit system consisting ofa through-wire conduit, distributing-ducts extending along said conduit,and service-ducts leading transversely from the IOO IIO

distributing-ducts, the through-Wire conduit and distributing-ductsbeing divided up into sections by man-holes spaced at intervals alongthe line and the service-ducts being provided with man-holes at theirends remote from the main conduit, and devices, substantially asdescribed, whereby the wire may be Withdrawn from the main conduitthrough the service-ducts, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

2. In an underground electric-conduit system, the combination, with adistributing-duct accessible or open at its ends and a servicepipeleading transversely from the distributing-duct, the service-pipe beingopen or accessible at its end remote from the main conduit, and agrappling device for withdrawing Wires from the distributing-ductthrough the service-pipe, substantially as described.

3. In an underground electric-conduit sys- JAMES F. MUNSIE. Vitnesses:

JOHN C. PENNIE, J. A. GoLDsBoRoUGH.

